Opinions on Springer Spaniel issues

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StarcatcherWilliam

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I have a lovely Springer Spaniel who is going to be 10 later on this month. I have had him since he was a puppy, we have a very close bond and he has a lovely personality. In the last couple of years however, he has become aggressive when he is in his bed. If I so much as walk past him in his bed he growls and snarls at me. This seems to confuse him though, as he wags his tail at the same time! If I attempt to approach him in his bed he will snarl, bark and walk towards me whilst still growling etc - but his tail is wagging the whole time. I don't approach him when he is in bed anymore and if he does growl (for example as I am walking past) I totally ignore him. I have tried moving his bed to different areas etc but he doesn't stop doing it. He is only allowed in certain parts of the house and is not allowed on chairs or sofa etc. Once he has snapped out of aggression mode, he is back to his usual loyal loving self. Just wondered why he is like this, anyone got any ideas?
 
Get his eyesight/hearing checked out or rule out a pain response - does getting out of bed mean going for a walk and aggravating an injury you may not have been aware of?
Also query dementia.
Wagging tail does not automatically mean happy/pleased/relaxed.

If he is given a clean bill of health and is just throwing his weight around, you have been letting him get his own way for quite some time and if he were mine I would be trying to fix it rather than avoiding him or tolerating it.
 
My Twelve year old is a bit more vocal nowadays , but he is losing his hearing and sight a little.

Get the vet to do a thorough check,
 
I took him to the vet for a thorough check up last week. He has broken a tooth, so that is coming out tomorrow and the others are having a clean up. He also has some fatty lumps which are going to be investigated tomorrow too. The lumps don't seem to be causing any pain, but maybe the teeth are making him miserable??

I wouldn't say that I let him get away with stuff, in fact he is genuinely extremely well behaved the rest of the time. Up until recently we did agility together and most of the time he is the perfect dog, although he does also have "car" issues - if he goes out for a special walk (beach etc), when we come back home he won't get out the car and growls and snarls when approached!
 
My dog wouldn't get in and out of the car when he hurt his back. The injury actually occured during agility (he jumped from the top of an a-frame straight to the ground) He also pulls up lame if he has had too hard a run on hard surfaces (eg, hard sand!). Maybe a coincidence though.
 
CaveCanem said:
My dog wouldn't get in and out of the car when he hurt his back. The injury actually occured during agility (he jumped from the top of an a-frame straight to the ground) He also pulls up lame if he has had too hard a run on hard surfaces (eg, hard sand!). Maybe a coincidence though.
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I lift him in and out of the car, and we haven't done any agility for a while, although he does still jump over enormous fences etc when out on walks :eek: so it could be his back I suppose. But he did the car thing last week after a trip to the vets! Also, when my Dad got a new van a few years ago, my springer jumped in the back and refused to get out. It was as if he thought the van was his territory! Nightmare!! :rolleyes:

I have been really worrying about him lately though as he has become ever so slightly clumsy and doesn't manage steps as well as he used to. Could just be getting older I suppose :-(
 
I had no idea my dog had back issues, he had a bit of tightness in a back leg, barely noticeable but I knew something wasn't right...had an x-ray of his back and saw that he had damaged a vertabrae - this was weeks after the accident. That was two years ago and he still gets aggravations of it every once in a while (usually when I have walked him :o)
 
CaveCanem said:
.......

Also query dementia.
Wagging tail does not automatically mean happy/pleased/relaxed.

If he is given a clean bill of health and is just throwing his weight around, you have been letting him get his own way for quite some time and if he were mine I would be trying to fix it rather than avoiding him or tolerating it.
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I agree regarding the question of a form of dementia, though God knows how a clear diagnosis is reached! :D A previously happy, well rounded and bonded relationship, suddenly turning, would tell me that as C_C says, his mind may be wandering.

"In the past couple of years however...." if you try to correct now it, I suspect that you may well have a fight on your hands, and as it's been allowed to go on, I suspect that I'd learn how to live with it. It seems that he's got the better of you, but don't take that the wrong way, as my old dog Mick, a work Collie, in the last few years of his life developed a mind of his own. I still had a genius of a work dog! ;)

I'd be very doubtful of a pain related issue, as generally pain will manifest itself, when he rises or lays down.

If he gets to the stage where he is showing aggression, to the point where you think that he may actually attack you, it'll be time to consider his future, I would think.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on, and good luck!

Alec.
 
You could be talking about my old dog (now departed). He was a Welsh Springer , daft as a brush,and an absolute christian - totally trustworhty with humans and animals (incl children!) but as he got older, he started grumbling if anyone came near his bed, whilst frantically wagging his tail. He appeared to have no idea that he was doing it, and was fine once he had got up. We put it down to him becoming a senile old git, and just made sure his bed was in a quiet corner where we didn't need to disturb him, and that we gave him plenty of time to wake up and regather his marbles. This went on for about 4 years, and he died in his basket at the grand old age of 15 - a very happy old man.
 
Hi we had a smilliar problem recently with oour Jack Russell. When i went near her or touched her she snapped at me. I went straight to the vet and found out she had jarred her back. Vet gave her an injection and some anti-inflam. and within 4 days she was right as rain. The bed thing seems strange though, maybe the post earlier is a possibility - vet check on eyes and ears.

Chris @ www.itsapetsworld.co.uk
 
We have two rescue springers one of whom is the same age as yours. In May my 25 year old son startled her from sleep on the sofa and she bit his face,he had to have twenty stitches! She gets really grouchy from about nine pm. The rest of the time she is obedient gentle and calm. The are highly strung working dogs and we need to be sensible with them. The power they have is amazing, she only weighs 15kgs and she did a lot of damage.
 
Auslander said:
You could be talking about my old dog (now departed). He was a Welsh Springer , daft as a brush,and an absolute christian - totally trustworhty with humans and animals (incl children!) but as he got older, he started grumbling if anyone came near his bed, whilst frantically wagging his tail. He appeared to have no idea that he was doing it, and was fine once he had got up. We put it down to him becoming a senile old git, and just made sure his bed was in a quiet corner where we didn't need to disturb him, and that we gave him plenty of time to wake up and regather his marbles. This went on for about 4 years, and he died in his basket at the grand old age of 15 - a very happy old man.
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Yes that is exactly what he is like, he doesn't seem to realise he is doing it at all! As soon as he has snapped out of it, he is back to his usual lovely self. He too it totally trustworthy with kids and pets - we have horses, geese, chickens etc and he is an angel with them all.

Luckily we have a big kitchen/dining room area so there is no need to get too close to his bed when he is in it!!
 
We have had success in rescue using Vivitonin on older dogs with apparent "dementia", it has made a huge difference to some of them and give them a new lease of life. I would discuss the possibility of trialling it with your vet if there are no other obvious reasons for the behaviour.
 
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